At Cydney's request, the two friends went to a new bubble tea cafe that was half a mile away from Lyn's apartment. Resting her cheeks on her palms, Millie watched her friend slurp on their shared bubble tea. A smile crept up her face.

"So, first thing first, Lemon?"

Cydney almost choked on the tapioca pearls. "It's- It's just something I came up with. Don't bring it up to Lyn though, she's not too happy about it."

"Why?" Millie chuckled. "It's such a cute nickname."

"Isn't it?" Cydney said with an indignant expression. "I think so too."

"It's as cute as the two of you." Millie let out a wistful sigh. "I'm so happy for you."

Cydney's eyebrows twitched in concern. "Is everything okay? Did... Did something happen with Raph?"

Millie was not surprised about the question. Her emotions and thoughts had always been written all over her face, fully displayed to the world. It was one of the reasons why she tried her best to never get angry or worked up. It didn't work all the time, of course, like right now.

"Yeah..." Millie gulped down the lump in her throat. "It's... It's mostly my fault though."

"What happened?" Cydney asked gently, pushing the drink over to her.

Millie took a few grateful sips as she contemplated. "So, the thing is... As much as I complain about Raph and how he's so dense and stupid, he... he actually asked me out before."

"He did? When?"

"In the senior year of high school. He... He asked me to prom and told me that he liked me." Millie wiggled the straw around, her eyes glued to the floating black pearls. "At that point, I... I was too young, I guess. I already promised a prom date to someone else, and I was involved in a lot of other drama between friend groups... It's- Well, anyway, it just wasn't a good time to date. And I was also preparing to leave home for college so it's not a good idea to start something at the end of high school, you know?"

"Didn't you two go to the same college?"

"We sure did." A dry laugh left Millie's throat. "But I didn't know it then. So... I rejected him. And I didn't want to hurt his feelings or anything, so I told him I saw him as a... a really close friend."

"Oh." Cydney's round eyes gleamed in realization. "You friendzoned him."

Millie slumped her head back down on the table. "I mean, I guess I did, but I didn't know that was what I did, you know? I- I was nervous and I didn't think straight and I just blurted that out. I didn't know that it'd come back and bite me in the ass like this."

"I'm sorry, Millie," Cydney whispered. "How long ago was this?"

"Five years ago. Way too long ago." Millie took a few more sips of the bubble tea. "Is it... Is it mean of me to reject him back then but want him back now?"

The smile on Cydney's lips was a mix of amusement and shame. "Millie, if that's mean, then I'm the devil..."

"What? How can you be? You're an angel! And Lyn is so smitten by you, it's so obvious from day one." Millie sighed. "I wish it was this easy to tell for Raph. I wish he was more like Lyn, more obvious about his feelings and everything, and I don't have to be stuck in this stupid limbo, this- this confusing and uncertain—"

Cydney cut Millie off with a burst of laughter. "Millie, what are you talking about? It's clear as day that he likes you, a lot. Everyone sees it, even Lyn the dumbass."

"I don't think so..." Millie mumbled, her face contorting into a scowl as she recalled what had happened. "He's still hung up about his exes."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, he..." Millie squirmed in her seat. "Basically, right before I went to find you, I was over at his place, and he... brought up his ex for no reason. I blew up on him and went straight to you afterward."

Cydney exploded just as Millie had done. "He did? Why would he do that? That's not cool!"

"Right?" Cydney's anger was as rare as Millie's, and so her outburst made Millie feel very validated. "He's just so frustratingly dense."

"He is, but, well, I think everyone becomes a little dumber when it comes to love." Cydney smiled as a sentimental expression washed over her face. "Did you know, out of me and Lyn, I was the one who confessed first? And you know what Lyn said to me when I told her I love her? She insisted I'm lying. Multiple times."

"Really?" Millie frowned. She knew just how painfully in love Lyn was with Cydney, having witnessed the agony Cydney's absence had caused Lyn. She would have thought Lyn would pounce at Cydney's confession.

"Yep. And even with her outgoing personality, it still took her very long to tell me about how she felt. I'm not talking about the casual flirtatious comments or the biased treatment, I'm talking about the real, honest, admission of feelings. It had to take her a stupid, drunk accidental kiss to finally get there."

"I remember that. That was terrible, but I'm glad things turned out better afterward." Millie lowered her head. "So I'm guessing all these... all these uncertainties and- and feelings... they're normal?"

"I don't know," Cydney admitted. "I think it depends. I wasn't as tormented in my previous relationship." She sat up and leaned towards Millie. "You should tell him how you feel, Millie. If he's not saying anything, you should."

Millie groaned. "But I'm the girl..."

"Come on, that's not an excuse," Cydney admonished with a small chuckle. "Tell him how you feel, and he'll definitely reciprocate. I'm sure of that."

"I don't know... I told you I blew up on him right? I- I screamed at him and then ran away."

"Raph can't stay mad at you at that. If he is angry, I can help you talk to him instead."

"N- No, you're right. I- I should be the one who talks to him." Millie's cheeks burnt as her heart fluttered. Talking with Cydney cleared her mind. It was decided—after this, she would find Raph again. She'd have to apologize to him and his family for running out like that, but then she'd get to talk to him. Maybe she'd tell him about her feelings, or maybe he'd tell her his. Whatever it was, she had to settle this once and for all.

Having put her mind somewhat at ease, she steered the conversation away. They talked about Cydney's mandatory community service, and how many hours she was left with; they discussed the books Cydney had read, and how awesome the romance subplots were; Millie told Cydney about her sister's proposal, while Cydney revealed (much to Millie's delight) about Lyn's possible plan to propose.

"Alright," Millie said after the two of them finally finished their drink. "Let's get you home before Lyn becomes too grumpy."

Cydney chuckled. "Let her be. I kinda like grumpy Lyn."

"Of course you do."

As they walked out of the cafe, Millie spotted Neil across the streets. His hulky build and ridiculously-sized sword were turning heads as he walked down the road. He must have been training after the team meeting. She could not help but grin at Cydney. "Hey, Cyd, have you met the new fighter in our team yet? Neil?"

Cydney frowned. "Hm? Oh yeah, he came over once..."

"Isn't he hot?"

"He's... Yeah..." A pout formed on her lips. "Well, be careful what you say in front of Raph later."

"Oh, Raph totally finds him hot too." Millie chortled. "Anyway, Neil's right there. We should go say hi."

Neil noticed them just as Millie pointed at him. She waved for him to come over, before frantically straightening her dress.

"Millie, fancy seeing you here," Neil said, raising his eyebrows. "I thought you had a family event."

"I did, but it's over now. You've met Cydney, right?"

"Oh yes." He faced the Asian woman and smiled—an ever so charming smile. "Hello, Cydney. The last time I saw you, Lyn seemed very... protective of you. I didn't know she'd let you out of her watch."

Cydney gave Millie a nervous peek, to which Millie answered with a proud exclamation, "Don't worry, she's safe with me! Oh, and I guess with you here now, she's doubly safe."

"Happy to offer my protective services anytime," Neil said with a cheeky wink; his golden eyes sparkled with liveliness.

"Perfect." Millie giggled. "We're going back to Lyn's place right now. Wanna tag along, bodyguard?"

"Sure, why not. It's on my way back."

Millie's grin widened. Cydney was such a lucky star.

Hooking her arms around Cydney's, Millie led the way towards Lyn's apartment as she repeated her sister's proposal story once again. Neil listened attentively, laughing at all her jokes and inserting the occasional "Wow," at the crazier moments. They walked away from the busy Downtown Boston, through the pleasant Boston Common, and up a quiet hill, when a thud stopped her in her tracks.

Cydney was on the ground.

It had happened too fast—in a blink of an eye, Cydney had slipped from Millie's grasp and landed on the concrete pavement, face-down. A pool of red formed from where her head was, growing, expanding, darkening.

Shock overwhelmed Millie until her mind screamed at her: dodge!

She leaped away just as a sword swung down at her. Dread, fear, and confusion flooded over her, but she managed to spin around and face the traitor.

Next to Cydney's fallen body stood a nonchalant Neil. His brandished sword was tainted with blood.

"What are you..." The question caught in Millie's throat.

"Don't worry, the sword was blunt when I hit her," Neil reassured before bending down to pick Cydney up.

The world was still whirring around Millie, but she snapped to focus when he touched the petite woman. Raising her hand, a rock from the corner of her eyes disappeared and reappeared right above Neil's face. It hit him with a soft thump. He froze.

"Stay away from her," Millie ordered.

Neil straightened and stared straight at her. "You don't want to fight me." His voice was gratingly calm. "Leave and go to the authorities, before you regret it."

Millie swallowed. There was no way she could ever defeat Neil, but she could at least keep him here until someone came along. Someone.

She conjured two emergency items to her hands: a signaling gemstone and a pre-enhanced sword. They were stocked for an emergency—and this was the biggest emergency ever.

"Dream on," she growled as she crushed the gemstone.

Someone. Hurry.

Then, she charged.

After a few parries, the blade shattered into pieces and Millie had no choice but to jump away again.

"You can't be serious, fighting with a pre-enhanced sword." Neil smirked.

"I have more." Millie conjured another sword from her storage unit before rushing towards Neil again.

As she slashed her sword, she summoned a few items onto the fighter, breaking his attention and blocking his view—a few more pebbles, a bulky folder, a huge soft toy. None of them deterred Neil; he easily cut through every one of the items while blocking her onslaughts.

Once again, Millie's sword broke and she had to retreat. She panted as she watched cotton rain down on the pavement. Tears welled up in her eyes; Raph had bought that toy for her, and now it was ruined.

"You're surprisingly good," Neil remarked. A frown had appeared on his brows. "Were you trained as a fighter but dropped out because of your magic?"

The sentence was like an arrow in her heart. She blinked away her tears and spat, "It doesn't matter what I trained as."

Summoning another sword, Millie attacked again. And again, and again. Every time Neil destroyed a sword, she conjured a new one immediately. Their battle became an almost endless cycle of fight, break, and conjure—until Neil landed a kick on her stomach. She rolled away, coughing and sputtering.

"I'm impressed. Why doesn't Lyn use you in quests?" Neil looked around at the shattered metal pieces. "Well, I'm guessing you have limited pre-enhanced swords. They're pretty expensive if I recall. I wonder when you will run out of these."

Millie gritted her teeth. "Never." That was a lie, but she didn't care.

"You should stop. Keep going and I might get serious."

The taunt enraged Millie even more. "We trusted you!" she yelled, before lunging forward again.

She went on a rampage, slashing, cutting, hacking. Once she was out of swords, she summoned everything she could remember from her storage unit: a giant net, a dozen daggers, a few underwater diving jackets, a fire blaster. Anything and everything. But none of them fazed Neil, not one bit.

His sword finally met her arm. She cried out in pain as she staggered away. Wild and desperate, Millie looked around and started bringing everything she saw in the vicinity to the fighter. Anything and everything, as long as it could help.

"Annoying! Brat!" Neil cursed. His previously cool facade had been chipping away, and it was now completely gone; Millie had gotten to him, and he knew it.

Cutting through all the rocks, trees, and barbs, Neil ran towards her and swung his sword one last time. The blade sliced through her neck.

Millie stiffened. Her hands flew to her throat as she fell to the ground.

"You should've just ran away." Neil walked over to the unconscious Cydney and draped her over his shoulder.

No, no... Millie tried to call for help, but the words were stuck in her injury.

"Goodbye, Millie," Neil said. He reached into his pocket and teleported away with Cydney.

Another pool of red formed in front of her, expanding and growing, as if it wanted to merge with the pool that Cydney left behind. Cydney. Cydney was taken away, and Millie couldn't do anything. The pain from her injury was excruciating, but the fear of losing a friend was worse.

Cydney was gone, and she was bleeding out.

Was she going to die?

"Millie!" Raph's voice echoed in her ears.

Raph. Oh good, he responded to the signal.

A pair of warm hands clasped on her neck and waist, flipping her around. The tear-stricken face of her best friend came to view just as a surge of energy channeled through her—Raph's magic. She smiled.

Thank God for you, Raph.

"Millie, oh God, oh my God, stay with me, alright? I'm here now, I'm here now, I'm here now..." Raph's voice was trembling as much as his body.

What took you so long, idiot?

"Don't speak, Millie, don't, let me just- Please, just stay with me, okay? Just stay with me..."

Of course I'll stay with you, idiot. I always stay with you.

"No, no, don't sleep, don't sleep! Keep your eyes open just like that, yes, please, keep awake, please..."

But I'm sleepy, you idiot. I want to sleep...

"Please, Millie, I can't lose you... Millie, remember Flora's proposal? Remember? Remember how much you loved it? Please, stay with me, and I promise to give you an even bigger one, okay? I promise, I promise you, so please..."

You idiot. A proposal is supposed to be a surprise...

With Raph here, her body relaxed. After all, she was okay now; she had the best healer next to her, the person she trusted the most in the world, her very best friend. What more could she ask for?

Closing her eyes, she slumped her head into Raph's arm.

I'm sorry for rejecting you, Raph. I love you.